Riding in the rain

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Newblet

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I rode my 125r to work today and I knew it was going to rain, I was okay with that because I wanted a bit of rain practice. I do however have a few newb questions about after a ride.

Is it necessary to towel dry your bike after a ride in the rain? if so what are the important bits to dry?

I did give it a quick dry with a towel because I was unsure and I don't want anything to rust.

Cheers.
 
Newblet said:
I rode my 125r to work today and I knew it was going to rain, I was okay with that because I wanted a bit of rain practice. I do however have a few newb questions about after a ride.

Is it necessary to towel dry your bike after a ride in the rain? if so what are the important bits to dry?

I did give it a quick dry with a towel because I was unsure and I don't want anything to rust.

Cheers.
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Your bike is fine in the rain and will be fine letting it dry on its own. It wont be clean, but it wont be hurt in anyway. I have never ever toweled any of my bikes off after the rain, heavy or not. I ride rain or shine, 8 months of the year.
 
just make sure to lube the chain soon after its been in rain, otherwise itll rust and wear out faster. other then that dont worry about it.
 
wonderings said:
I didnt think of the chain, its been a while since I had one.

+1 to what he said.
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Any suggestions on brand and what type of lube? In fact I don't even know how to properly lube a chain o.O I'm new at this, only 2200km on my first bike.
 
Newblet said:
Any suggestions on brand and what type of lube? In fact I don't even know how to properly lube a chain o.O I'm new at this, only 2200km on my first bike.
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I use Dupont chain saver from Lowes. Have been using it for two seasons now. No complaints. I lube my chain every 600km or so or after everytime it rains.
 
Newblet said:
Any suggestions on brand and what type of lube? In fact I don't even know how to properly lube a chain o.O I'm new at this, only 2200km on my first bike.
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I like PJ1 blue label I believe it is, The castrol one sucks and throws lube all over your under tail.
 
You could just put on a scots oiler and just forget about oiling the chain completely. Other then making sure its full.
 
Newblet said:
I rode my 125r to work today and I knew it was going to rain, I was okay with that because I wanted a bit of rain practice. I do however have a few newb questions about after a ride.

Is it necessary to towel dry your bike after a ride in the rain? if so what are the important bits to dry?

I did give it a quick dry with a towel because I was unsure and I don't want anything to rust.

Cheers.
Click to expand...

You didn't ask this, but if you are a newbie to riding in the rain, it is worth mentioning:

The paint on the roads is super slippery. Pedestrian crossings, white/yellow lines and the arrows painted on the road are all very slippery in conditions like today. I felt my bike slip and slide a bit. Be cautious, and be safe. I ride in the rain a lot.

I also slide my foot on the pavement as I'm riding to test friction/traction levels.
 
I've been using the Maxima chain wax product up until recently, but have a can of Bel-Ray which I'll be switching to once that runs out. No real reason other than being able to tell there's wax on the chain (Bel-Ray stuff stays white until it gets fairly dirty etc) but also I think the Bel-Ray stuff flings off a bit less.
 
From one newbie to a fello newbie Another thing to watch is the squigglies. You know those cracks on the road that are filled with the black pitch/tar stuff. Well wet or dry if you hit them you get a little wobble/slip, just enough to make you feel alive :)Keep a quick eye on those and avoid if possible.
 
Road snakes suck in dry or wet!! I swear that the weather forecasters are the biggest paycheque thieves in the freakin universe! I was watching accuweather and weather network, both said the rain was supposed to be finished this morning.

Wel, accuwindow says NOT SO MUCH! We'll see what it is like in 2 hours when I'm off.
 
wonderings said:
You could just put on a scots oiler and just forget about oiling the chain completely. Other then making sure its full.
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Scott oilers are great, but they do let my Triumph do a good imitation of an old Triumph dripping oil. Wonderful for the chain though.

As for riding in the rain, remember you will have some reduced traction. This would be most noticeable when trying to corner and either brake or accelerate at the same time. Wet riding to me rewards smoothness, rather than being abrupt on the controls. Of course, with the CBR125R abrupt on the gas probably isn't as big a problem as other bikes. And the narrow tires probably due very well in the rain compared to larger cross section tires.
 
anik said:
I use Dupont chain saver from Lowes. Have been using it for two seasons now. No complaints. I lube my chain every 600km or so or after everytime it rains.
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I find the dupont chain saver a bit too heavy and it seems to hold more grime. The dupont multi purpose teflon lube is the best. Available at lowes as well. It's also recommended on webbikeworld.com, and they seem to do the best reviews of all things motorcycle and they've not let me down so far.
 
koalaKid said:
I also slide my foot on the pavement as I'm riding to test friction/traction levels.
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This seems like a very unsafe practice, koalaKid. What correlation could there possibly be between your boot soles traction and tire traction? Sounds like a good way to get injured.

Nobody has mentioned this yet... be extra careful for the first 15 - 30 minutes after it starts raining. It is during this time period that all the guck on the road (oil, tire dust, etc.) mixes with the rainwater and it can be quite slippery. Also, make sure you have plenty of tread depth on your tires so you minimize the chances of hydroplaning - the tire tracks on the road are real water collectors and if you dont have enough tread depth to evacuate this water you could be in for some trouble (one day my back tire lost traction and broke free for about half a second - when it regained traction, the bike was slightly askew in the lane, and it nearly caused the bike to go out of control (a dreaded "tankslapper"!) When I inpected the tires afterward, I discovered that they were nearly at the wearbars - wont make that mistake again!)
 
Yeah and in particular stay out of the centre of the lane near intersections as that is where the build up is worst - it''s a good idea to avoid that anyways but in rain, especially as the first drops hit - use a lot of caution.

I'd certainly not drag your foot for traction testing but you should try braking in the rain in a safe situation to gain confidence. Build up slowly and more balance your braking.
You'll be surprised how well it does on normal pavement when wet.....
It's the slippy stuff like paint and metal that will give you a start.

Rain is no problem unless you run into vision issues with fogging and that can be very risky. Look at some solutions that are anti-fog and will bead up instead of blocking your vision.
Carrying a pair of clear safety glasses for rain is a good idea a vision can drop drastically in a storm and dark glasses won't help that.

Biggest tip - do not continue to ride if you are uncomfortable.....rain usually passes quickly ( the worst ones ) sit it out in a safe area. One with good coffee and fine looking serving staff make it worth while to take a rain break

I can recommend a very fine "wait it out place" on the road to James Bay ;)

Screenshot2011-06-18atJun18201145448PM.jpg


Complete with wireless and a cute wait staff.....an enjoyable hour out of a 1000k day. :D

But good for you to tackle rain as a new rider.....and ask for tips.
 
Rain brings out the idiot factors as well. Pedestrians duck their heads behind collars to keep the rain off their necks and then dart out into traffic. Cagers open doors. Crap, it's only water.
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